For everyone and about everything. What to give and how to treat a dog if it is poisoned? Acute poisoning in a dog

Signs of food poisoning in dogs

A dog in your home is not just a pet. This is a real family member whose ill health is perceived very acutely. For the owners of a pet, the state of its health is a special topic, indicating careful care. An animal cannot complain to its owner about feeling unwell. The owner himself guesses about her illness based on individual symptoms.

Causes of intoxication

Dogs have an instinct to get food. They are not picky enough about food. Even when she is not hungry, she is unlikely to ignore something that has an appetizing aroma. Therefore, they are very often at risk of food intoxication.

Routes of entry of poison

It is important to distinguish between the toxic substances that poisoned the dog.

This is important in order to know how to treat a dog and what to feed a dog if it is poisoned. After all, as a rule, they can be poisoned not only by food.

The following options are likely to cause food poisoning in dogs:

Negative manifestations

A common mistake that animal owners make is improper treatment in the initial stages of intoxication. The reason for this is the fact that when a dog is poisoned, the symptoms at the initial stage are similar to those indicating an infectious disease, in particular viral enteritis. In such a case, as with intoxication, vomiting and reluctance to eat are typical. What to do if your dog is poisoned? How not to confuse signs of intoxication with signs of disease?

Signs of intoxication

Standard symptoms include:

• vomit;
• excessive salivation;
• diarrhea;
• painful sensations in the abdomen;
• muscle weakness;
• imbalance of the body when moving, involuntary twitching;
• convulsive manifestations, paralysis;
• disturbance of heart rhythm, respiratory function;
• dilated pupils, development of blindness is possible;
• falling into unconsciousness or coma.

Signs of viral diseases

Although the clinical picture of intoxication and infection is similar, there are still some signs that make it possible not to confuse one with the other. Among them are the following:

Help with pet intoxication

If the dog is poisoned, then specific symptoms indicating this appear after 7 hours. But there are poisons that have a poisonous effect after a long time. A natural question that arises for owners in such cases is how to help a dog if intoxication has occurred?

First aid

When a dog is poisoned, you cannot ignore the consultation of a veterinarian, even when it is mild and everything turned out well. First aid for dog poisoning consists of a number of actions:

• provoke artificial vomiting by pouring water into her mouth with soda or saline solution dissolved in it;
• These solutions can be replaced with hydrogen peroxide diluted in water in equal proportions;
• give an enema prepared from water and salt;
• give a weak solution of manganese or strong tea;
• remove possible residues of toxic substances on the wool;
• give an adsorbent (enterosgel, charcoal, enterosorb);
• half an hour after the administration of the adsorbent drug, give a medication that has a laxative effect;
• if necessary, give enveloping drugs.

It is strictly forbidden to induce artificial vomiting after exposure to acids, alkaline solutions and petroleum products, because moving backward along the food tract, they will cause a burn to the mucous membrane.

This cannot be done even if the animal is convulsing or in an unconscious state.

Give an enema with a salt solution

Treatment by a veterinarian

In the future, poisoning in dogs will be treated by a veterinarian in a veterinary hospital. The specialist will conduct a professional examination of the animal. After analyzing the obvious symptoms, he will determine the source of intoxication and choose the correct treatment. In a veterinary hospital, helping a dog with poisoning consists of a number of procedures:

• gastric lavage and enemas;
• administration of an antidote corresponding to the toxic substance;
• administration of diuretic drugs;
• the use of medications that support liver function and heart function;
• if necessary, artificial ventilation of the lungs;
• use of anticonvulsants and antibiotics.

Injection of vitamin B6, an antidote to isoniazid.

Treatment at home

When a dog is poisoned, treatment at home will be guaranteed to be effective if the owner knows what poison has entered the gastrointestinal tract.

Isoniazid

This is an anti-tuberculosis drug. In this case, the cause of poisoning is the human factor. The poisoner is a dog hunter who uses this drug to kill wild dogs.

The drug is quickly absorbed into the small intestine. The first symptoms appear after half an hour or an hour. The animal becomes drowsy, loses balance when walking, there is weakness and trembling in the paws, saliva is released profusely, blood is often observed in the vomit, convulsions appear, difficulty breathing and the animal falls into a comatose state.

If treatment is not started immediately, death is possible within 1-3 hours.

In case of intoxication of this kind, it is important to immediately remove the toxic substance from the body. This is done by inducing artificial vomiting, if there are no convulsions or loss of consciousness.

Next, introduce vitamin B6, which is an antidote to isoniazid. The injection should be carried out before the veterinarian arrives. It is correct to inject intravenously, but if you lack the skills, intramuscular injection is allowed (1 ml of vitamin B6 for every 5 kg of animal weight).

Afterwards, give an adsorbent.

Rat poison

Gastric lavage in a veterinary clinic

This drug prevents blood clotting. In cases of poisoning, uncoagulated blood is found in the vomit and feces. It also flows from the respiratory tract. The effect of the toxic substance lasts up to 10 days. Symptoms indicating intoxication with this poison make themselves felt within 3-5 days.

Such cases are very common. And it is natural for owners to ask how to treat a dog if it is poisoned with such a poison. Veterinarians recommend injecting 1-2 ml of Vikasol intramuscularly.

Acid or alkali

It is necessary to rinse the tongue, nose, and mouth thoroughly. Pour up to half a liter of water containing an adsorbent into the animal’s mouth.

Further treatment must be transferred to a veterinary hospital, where the animal will undergo gastric lavage using a tube.

Arsenic

Determining the source in such a case is simple. A garlicky odor will be felt from the animal's mouth.

It is necessary to feed the animal a mixture of ferrous sulfate and magnesium oxide in a ratio of 1:5, respectively, per half liter of water. Provide drinks every 10-15 minutes, 50-100 milliliters 2-4 times a day.

Further diet

In such incidents, it is important not only how to treat the pet, but also how to properly organize feeding.

In the first days after poisoning, the following products will be very useful for the animal:

Milk is permissible only if poisoning has occurred with heavy metal salts. Otherwise, it will only speed up the absorption of toxic substances from the intestines.

Whatever your pet is poisoned with, you need to keep him without food for the first 24 hours, ensuring he drinks plenty of fluids.

Then, when starting feeding, food is given in small portions. Easily digestible foods are allowed: cottage cheese, chicken eggs, liver, boiled lean meat, oatmeal, yogurt.

How to cure a puppy

In addition to knowledge of the rules of care, nutrition and maintenance of pets, the owner needs to acquire basic skills in providing first aid in case of intoxication of a puppy.

After accidental ingestion of poison into the body or as a result of someone’s malicious intent, signs of poisoning in dogs appear to varying degrees. It is extremely important to immediately take measures to remove toxins from your pet’s gastrointestinal tract in order to reduce its suffering and avoid death. In addition, you need to be able to accurately distinguish poisoning from other diseases with similar symptoms.

Symptoms of poisoning in dogs

The way a dog behaves when poisoned is sometimes very similar to the manifestations of infectious diseases. Owners often confuse poisoning with the initial stage of a viral infection, since in both cases the dog exhibits vomiting and refusal to eat. In order to take the right measures and not cause even more harm, you need to take a closer look at the dog’s behavior: with enteritis and has a foamy structure, it intensifies as the disease develops. Signs of obvious poisoning in dogs are when, in addition to vomiting and excessive salivation, symptoms of damage to the nervous system appear:

• gait disturbance, muscle twitching;
• and paralysis;
• loss of consciousness;
• changes in heart rate and breathing;
• muscle weakness;
• pupil dilation.

Poisoning a dog with rat poison

Rat poison can enter a dog’s body not only in its pure form, but also as a result of eating the carcasses of rodents that have died from the poison. If you suspect your pet has been poisoned by rat poison, remember that in dogs the symptoms of poisoning with this poison are as follows:

• difficulty breathing due to pulmonary edema;
• weakening of the pulse;
• pallor;
• vomit;
• convulsions;
• lack of urination.

Signs of poisoning develop within 2-3 hours after eating the poison. With timely measures taken, in most cases it is possible to achieve a favorable outcome. The first thing to do, if no more than 4 hours have passed since the poisoning, is to induce profuse vomiting by rinsing the stomach with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and then give the dog an absorbent (“Polysorb”, “Enterosorb”). Next, you need to feed the animal mucous decoctions - rice, rolled oats, flaxseed.

Poisoning of dogs with isoniazid

Isoniazid or tubazid is a medicine for tuberculosis. Most dogs become victims of poisoning with this substance as a result of the actions of so-called dog hunters. The danger of the drug is that dogs cannot metabolize the substance effectively. It is absorbed into the blood very quickly, so the first signs of a dog being poisoned by poison appear after half an hour. The dog “skids”, it looks clearly weakened, there is profuse salivation, vomiting blood, convulsions, respiratory depression and coma. If action is not taken within an hour, death occurs.

The first thing to do while the dog is still conscious is to induce vomiting by giving it a saline solution or a solution of hydrogen peroxide in a 1:1 ratio with water. After this, the drug is immediately administered - the antidote isoniazid. This is done intravenously or intramuscularly at the rate of 1 ml per 5 kg of animal weight. Next, you can give the dog “Polysorb” or “Enterosgel”, after which you need to immediately take the dog to the veterinarian.

Food poisoning in a dog

If a dog has eaten spoiled food or something not typical of its diet, for example, sometimes chocolate poisoning occurs in dogs, it may experience an acute reaction from the gastrointestinal tract. It would be a mistake to believe that the dog’s body will cope with this on its own, that this is a trivial problem that will solve itself after a couple of days. If timely assistance is not provided, serious complications and even death can occur. What are the symptoms of food poisoning in a dog and how to treat it:

• the dog becomes apathetic, does not respond to commands, refuses to eat and drink;
• periodically begins to behave very restlessly and inappropriately;
• breathing is disrupted and becomes irregular;
• more serious symptoms are convulsions, bloody vomiting and diarrhea due to the further development of the disease in the absence of help.

You can help the animal with the help of urgent measures:

• induce vomiting mechanically or give her a solution of potassium permanganate;
• give her activated carbon or another absorbent;
• perform an enema.

Protein poisoning in dogs

You can understand that a dog has been poisoned due to feeding low-quality industrial food or exclusively meat food by the following signs:

• hair loss occurs on the back, above the tail, on the muzzle;
• the coat becomes dull, hard and brittle;
• dandruff appears - dying skin flakes;
• the dog is constantly itching;
• weight loss occurs;
• the urine darkens and acquires a pungent odor.

All these signs of protein poisoning in dogs do not appear immediately, but gradually, 4 weeks after the introduction of poorly balanced, often cheap food into its diet. Treatment in this case consists of switching the dog to another, more suitable food or reducing muscle meat in the diet and symptomatic treatment of the coat and skin - bathing in special shampoos, taking antihistamines to reduce itching.

Poisoning a dog with tick repellent

• lethargy;
• uncertain shaky gait;
• the appearance of dry or weeping eczema at the site where the collar was worn or the product was applied;
• restlessness, scratching the affected area of ​​skin.

Arsenic poisoning in dogs

Develops as a result of careless storage of poison or deliberate baiting of an animal. Poisoning a dog with arsenic gives the following symptoms after just half an hour:

• the dog rubs its face with its paws;
• she has acute attacks of vomiting;
• diarrhea the color of rice water;
• barking becomes hoarse, intermittent, silent;
• movement becomes difficult;
• paw cramps are observed.

In the absence of immediate help, arsenic poisoning ends in death. Emergency first aid consists of giving the dog water with vinegar (1 tsp per 250 g of water) or citric acid (3-4 g per glass). After this, you need to urgently take the dog to the veterinarian or call him to your home. To prevent such poisoning, you need to wean your dog from eating food on the street and accepting food from strangers.

Boric acid poisoning in dogs

If boric acid enters the four-legged body, poisoning in the dog is manifested by the following symptoms:

• nausea and vomiting appears;
• diarrhea accompanied by bloody discharge;
• temperature drops to 36 °C;
• cardiac activity decreases;
• a red rash covers the skin;
• the dog hides in a corner, sits hunched over, shaking its ears;
• twitching of muscle tissue is observed.

What to do if you see similar signs of poisoning in dogs:

• give the animal a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
• give burnt magnesia or liquid starch paste;
• Call the veterinarian - you only have a few hours to save the animal.

Dog poisoning with zoocoumarin

Signs of poisoning in dogs with this type of rat poison are as follows:

• weakness;
• pallor of the mucous membranes;
• lack of appetite;
• dyspnea;
• bleeding from the gums and nasal passages;
• bleeding from the rectum, blood in the urine, coughing up blood.

In severe cases of poisoning, the animal dies from multiple hemorrhages, including subcutaneous ones. If your dog is poisoned, what to do immediately:

• give the dog a sorbent;
• administer vitamin K1 (Konakion) subcutaneously or orally - a specific antidote to zoocoumarin;
• take the animal to the veterinarian or invite the veterinarian home, then strictly follow his instructions for taking Konakion; therapy lasts up to 8 days.

Mercury poisoning in dogs

Mercury is included in many chemical compounds used to treat seeds before planting and to treat wood. With prolonged contact of an animal with such compounds, it begins to gradually develop acute or chronic mercury poisoning. How to understand that a dog has been poisoned:

• as a result of metabolic and gastrointestinal disorders, the dog develops diarrhea and anuria;
• the animal becomes lethargic, depressed, depressed;
• no urination;
• appetite disappears, the animal gradually becomes exhausted;
• convulsions appear, coordination of movements is impaired, and paralysis occurs.

In the absence of help, the animal dies within 5-10 days. The first emergency aid is to lavage the stomach with activated carbon crushed and diluted with water or a mixture of egg white and water. After this, the dog needs to be given a laxative - a decoction of marshmallow root, flaxseeds, milk. The antidote to mercury is the drug "Unitol", which is administered intravenously at the rate of 25 mg per kilogram of animal weight. For further treatment it is necessary to seek veterinary help.

How to save a dog from poisoning?

As you already understand, the measures taken largely depend on the specific source of poisoning. The general principles are to urgently lavage the stomach, take a sorbent and seek qualified help from a veterinarian. If you cannot independently determine the exact cause for treatment, food poisoning or paracetamol poisoning in dogs, or more serious poisoning, it is better to immediately call your veterinarian at home.

What to give your dog if he is poisoned?

So, the scheme of the first immediate actions in case of any poisoning of an animal and emergency treatment of poisoning in dogs is as follows:

1. Stop contact with the poison.
2. If the poison gets inside, induce vomiting (except in cases of poisoning with acid, petroleum products, caustic alkalis). To do this, give the dog a warm solution with table salt or soda, or prepare a solution of hydrogen peroxide in a 1:1 ratio and give it to the dog in a dose of 1 tablespoon per 3 kg of body weight.
3. If poison gets on your skin, wash it off with running water and baby soap.
4. In case of carbon monoxide poisoning, take the dog into fresh air and rinse the mucous membranes of the mouth and eyes with a 3% solution of baking soda.
5. Call the veterinarian, and while he is driving, give the animal an adsorbent, after half an hour - a laxative and enveloping agent.

Feeding a dog after poisoning

The next day after the onset of vomiting, the dog should be kept on a fasting diet. What to feed your dog after poisoning: gradually introduce light food into the diet, first it will be broth, liquid decoctions of cereals, then liquid porridge and minced meat. Such food is easily digestible, quickly digested and does not form stagnation, which is important during the period when the stomach and intestines are vulnerable and the liver is not able to cope with the abundance of incoming products.

Poisoning is intoxication of the body when poison enters it. Dogs are more susceptible to this danger than cats, since they are not very picky about food, they can eat everything they give, pick up something on the street, or chew on a poisoned object. Poisoning in an animal can be accidental, or it can also be planned, when someone deliberately harms dogs. In this article we will talk about the necessary actions if a dog is poisoned: what to do, symptoms and treatment of poisoning.

Danger of poisoning

In most cases, the owners themselves are to blame for poisoning their pet. There can be many reasons:

1. Acute food poisoning can be caused by feeding your dog spoiled food. Many people think that it is a shame to throw away food, but a dog can digest everything and nothing will happen to it. This is a huge mistake, because an animal’s stomach is much more sensitive than a human’s, and expired, obviously sour foods should not be given to dogs.
2. The dog can play with an object that has fallen under its paws - bottles of household chemicals, hair dye, insect and rodent control products, and so on. Never leave things dangerous to his health within a four-legged dog’s reach; they can not only harm the dog, but also kill it.
3. Incorrectly calculated dosage of medication is the main danger when self-medicating. Even deworming medications and dosage must be prescribed by a veterinarian.
4. Feeding your pet cheap food from an unknown manufacturer.
5. Walking without supervision. In rural areas, it would seem that the dog is in no danger. This is wrong. The dog can eat poisonous plants and lick zucchini treated with insect poisons. In the city, a dog can eat from a trash can, play with a cigarette butt and swallow it - all this is a danger to the body.

Even under the supervision of the owner, the dog is not safe. Today on the streets of the city there are many “dog hunters” - dog hunters. They scatter treats in walking areas that are laden with poison. The eaten piece acts quickly, within a maximum of an hour the animal dies in agony. Dog owners who are unprepared for such situations do not know what to do when their dog is poisoned. Symptoms and treatment of poisoning, first aid measures - in the further contents of the publication. Every loving owner should know all this.

What types of poisoning are there?

Poisoning in dogs, like in people, can be food or non-food. The first type is more common. The dog may eat something that contains toxins. The poison enters the body, causing intoxication. Symptoms of dog poisoning, and what to do in such cases, will be described below.

The second type is not food poisoning. This happens when poisons get into the respiratory tract, onto the animal’s fur and skin, or onto its mucous membranes. This type is much less common.

If a dog is poisoned, what should you do? Symptoms are the first thing we suggest considering. First, let's look at the general signs of poisoning; they may not occur with every type of poisoning. Next, we will analyze the most common types of poisoning, learn about the symptoms and first aid methods.

Symptoms of dog poisoning, and what to do first

Signs can vary widely, but the most common are:

• vomiting is not one-time, but frequent;
• diarrhea;
• drowsiness and lethargy, or vice versa, overexcitation;
• convulsions;
• chills;
• salivation increases;
• breathing becomes frequent and shallow;
• possible tachycardia.

If a dog is poisoned, everyone should know what to do first in order to provide assistance before the veterinarian arrives. First of all, call a doctor at home, or call and make an appointment so that they are already waiting for you. Next, you need to provide first aid to the animal.

First aid for poisoning

What should you do to give your dog food if it is poisoned? Many owners begin to really panic; they simply don’t know how to help their pet. If you are sure that the dog did not pick up or lick anything on the street, then most likely the poison entered the body through the skin and fur. It is necessary to remove the poisonous substance, which continues to penetrate more and more. To do this, the poison must be washed off using running water.

In case of food poisoning, the first thing you will need to do is cleanse the animal’s stomach of any remaining toxic substance. You need to do a gastric lavage using a large amount of water in which to dilute salt (a tablespoon per glass). A mixture of water and hydrogen peroxide, proportion 1/1, will also help.

What to do if a dog is poisoned through the respiratory tract? The first step is to take the animal to a well-ventilated room or outside. If the poisoning is caused by inhaled gasoline vapors (this happens in garages and in the yard where the car is parked), then you will need to give the dog two tablespoons of sunflower oil, and a little later give a laxative.

But each type of poisoning requires its own necessary help. We looked at options for providing first aid if the owner does not know what exactly has poisoned the pet. Next, we suggest considering what to do if a dog is poisoned, if you know what caused this condition.

Poisoning from low-quality products

If you are absolutely sure that your dog has eaten something spoiled or of poor quality, then you must first cleanse the stomach of the remnants of this food. We have already written above how to rinse the stomach, now we will consider the necessary further actions if the dog is poisoned by food. What to do besides gastric lavage? It is necessary to give the animal sorbents to cleanse the body of toxins. It could be:

• activated carbon - one tablet per ten kilograms of weight (if the dog is small, then one tablet);
• egg white separated from the yolk;
• kaolin;
• magnesia.

Milk, strongly brewed tea and a weak solution of manganese also help well with food poisoning.

After providing first aid, you should still consult a doctor, even if the condition has begun to normalize.

If the dog was poisoned by dog ​​hunters

What to do if your dog gets poisoned on the street? First of all, try to remember what and where the dog could pick up and eat. If it is just a bone, then the animal has simple food poisoning, and symptoms will not appear immediately. If a pet finds a treat abandoned by dog ​​hunters, then symptoms will appear quickly - in half an hour or an hour, these are:

• confusion;
• loss of orientation;
• the dog may start to thrash around, while he will be rocked;
• vomit;
• bloody foam often appears from the mouth;
• the dog becomes drowsy;
• depressed breathing;
• convulsions.

If urgent measures are not taken to provide assistance, the dog will fall into a coma and then die. Unfortunately, Isoniazid has already killed many animals. It is this drug that dog hunters use to carry out their plans. "Isoniazid" is a medicine for the treatment of tuberculosis in humans, but for animals it is a deadly poison that causes severe poisoning in dogs. What to do if these terrible symptoms appear?

1. Always keep "Pyridoxine" - 1% vitamin B6 - in your first aid kit. It will be the first necessary help in eliminating such poisoning. You need to inject 30-50 ml (depending on the size of the animal) of the medicine intravenously. If you don’t know how to give intravenous injections, then inject into the muscle.
2. Rinse your pet's stomach to remove any remaining poison. To do this, you will need a saline solution or half a glass of sunflower oil.
3. Among the sorbents, activated carbon will help perfectly - three grams of carbon will be required per kilogram of mass.
4. Give the animal "Corvalol", in the amount of 30 drops per 40 kilograms of the pet.
5. Urgently call a veterinarian to your home, and while he is on his way, give the dog a huge amount of water or give him water diluted in half with milk.

The dog was poisoned by rat poison: what to do?

A four-legged animal can find this poison in the most secret places, which people use to fight rodents. If the poison is the basis of drugs that interfere with blood clotting, then there will be blood in the stool and vomit. If a dog has eaten Bromethalin, the symptoms will be as follows:

• lack of coordination;
• paralysis of the hind legs;
• epileptic seizures;
• complete loss of appetite leading to anorexia;
• spontaneous muscle contraction;
• depression of the central nervous system.

The poison acts very slowly, and the first symptoms may appear only on the third or fifth day after eating the poison. If the dose is small, the dog may not show signs of poisoning for up to ten days.

The first step when these symptoms appear is to wash the stomach and intestines. If a saline solution helps with the stomach, then a probe will be needed to cleanse the intestines. While you wait for the doctor, you can give your pet a laxative. Next, you will need a sorbent; activated carbon is quite suitable.

Next, the animal will need to be administered intravenously "Vikasol" - vitamin K. The dosage is 1 ml for small breeds and puppies, and 2 ml for large dogs. Other drugs: anticonvulsants, anti-seizure drugs and for the nervous system will be prescribed only by a veterinarian, as well as the duration of treatment.

The dog needs to rinse its stomach every 4-8 hours. At the same intervals, immediately after washing, you need to give the sorbent.

If your dog is poisoned and won’t eat anything, what should you do? Do not force the animal to eat; prepare broth using meat. Poisoning with rat poison suppresses appetite for a long time, and the dog will lose a lot of weight during this time. After your pet recovers, take care of increased nutrition with plenty of proteins and vitamins.

Poisoning with acids or alkalis

What to do if your dog is poisoned by caustic substances? The main thing is not to do more harm. You should not induce vomiting, but rinsing will be necessary. To do this, call a veterinarian, he will rinse the animal’s stomach through a tube. While you are waiting for the doctor, you need to provide first aid:

1. Rinse your dog's mouth and nose with clean water.
2. Forcefully pour into the mouth, and make sure that the dog swallows, from half a liter to a liter of water, in which you need to dilute a good sorbent. If you have nothing on hand, strong tea will do.
3. Do not pour neutralizing substances into the mouth, such as citric acid or soda, as this can harm the stomach even more.

Arsenic poisoning

If a dog found and ate this dangerous poison somewhere, then its mouth will smell like garlic! It’s impossible not to notice this smell, so take action right away without waiting for other symptoms.

Rinse the animal's stomach, this is a mandatory measure, because the remaining poison, absorbed further, will only aggravate the situation. Next you will need a sorbent. After providing first aid, you need to give the dog 50-100 ml of solution every 15 minutes:

• half a liter of warm water;
• one hundred grams of ferric oxide sulfate;
• 20 grams of magnesium oxide.

You need to drink it about three times from the moment signs of poisoning are detected. If after the third dose it does not get better, then you need to give a fourth dose while you wait for the veterinarian.

Water is the first remedy for poisoning

Poisoning causes severe vomiting and diarrhea. All this dehydrates and exhausts the body, it becomes even weaker and cannot resist with full power. To help your pet, give him water in small quantities. If you give too much at once, the dog will simply vomit. Taking small sips will give you time to absorb the water.

When the vomiting stops, make sure your dog drinks a lot. For him, food will not be as important as drinking.

How will the dog be helped at the clinic?

In case of any poisoning, you must call a veterinarian at home or take your pet to the clinic yourself. This is necessary, because it will be very difficult to help the animal only on your own. The doctor will definitely need to tell you about all the symptoms, remember what he ate, where the dog was over the past 3-5 days. Perhaps the dog was poisoned by rat poison, and the owner thought that he had gotten low-quality food or a stale piece. The veterinarian will more accurately determine the cause of poisoning and prescribe appropriate treatment.

How veterinarians can help a dog when contacting:

1. Wash out the stomach.
2. They will do an enema, which will help more thoroughly flush out the remaining poison from the intestines.
3. They will introduce an antidote - a special antidote that will speed up the recovery process, and generally increase the chances of salvation if the poisoning was caused by strong poisons.
4. To quickly remove the poison from the blood, the veterinarian will prescribe diuretics.
5. Next, treatment is carried out aimed at restoring breathing, heart and liver function.
6. If there are seizures, an anti-seizure medication will need to be administered. If there was a foodborne illness, he prescribed treatment with antibiotics.

Don't try to cope with poisoning on your own. The clinic will also put in a drip with saline or glucose so that the animal does not become dehydrated. The sooner you seek help from a veterinarian, the greater your chances of saving your dog. Even mild food poisoning can cause irreparable damage to your pet's health.

Recovery period

We figured out what to do if a dog is poisoned. Now we need to touch on the topic of restoring your pet after intoxication.

The first is mandatory adherence to a diet. The diet in the first week after poisoning should consist of easily digestible foods. For 24 hours after poisoning, only water should be given. From the next day, in small portions you need to give the following foods:

• oatmeal;
• boiled meat: poultry, veal, beef, rabbit;
• liver scalded with boiling water;
• boiled eggs;
• cottage cheese;
• curdled milk.

The litter must be dry. If the dog is a yard dog, then place it in the house for the recovery period; the place should be warm, dry, but ventilated.

To prevent poisoning from recurring, carefully monitor the animal during walks and do not allow anything not only edible, but also various objects to be picked up from the ground. Take toys with you to prevent your dog from chewing on sticks. Keep household chemicals out of reach. Never give your dog expired food. If the diet consists of dry food, then choose not the cheapest one.

There are several types of poisoning: food poisoning (when a dog eats something toxic), respiratory (when a dog inhales toxic substances through the nose) and contact (through the skin). The first type of poisoning is most often recorded. Its main signs are: vomiting, diarrhea, cramps or muscle weakness, a general depressed state - the animal refuses food and whines.

It is necessary to deliver the animal to a veterinary clinic as soon as possible and ensure the provision of qualified care. In addition, try to provide first aid to the dog yourself. To do this, you need to provoke profuse vomiting: dilute a tablespoon of salt in a glass of warm water and pour it into the dog’s mouth.

What to give your dog if he is poisoned?

Use adsorbents - substances that bind poisons in the intestines. The usual drugs from your own medicine cabinet will do: enterosgel or other drugs of similar effect that you have on hand. The easiest way to administer them is with a regular syringe without a needle.

If your dog has carbon monoxide poisoning, take him out into the fresh air. Keep her calm and make sure she has enough water in her bowl. If carbon monoxide poisoning is severe, you will need the help of a veterinarian.

If chemicals (such as alkaline cleaners) come into contact with your pet's skin, the area should be washed thoroughly with warm soapy water. If your dog has eaten such chemicals, under no circumstances should you perform a gastric lavage, as you would with regular food poisoning. In this case, poisons during vomiting can further damage the esophageal mucosa. Just rinse your dog's mouth and face with warm water and immediately take him to the veterinarian.

A separate point is poisoning with two poisons popular among dog hunters - isoniazid (tablets for tuberculosis) and rat poison. In the first case, the dog will not vomit or have diarrhea, but will experience severe convulsions and lack of coordination.

In this case, you should keep in your first aid kit a one percent solution of vitamin B6 (aka pyridoxine) for intramuscular injections (the volume depends on the size and weight of the pet).

A sign of rat poison poisoning is blood in the stool and vomit. Another sign is the smell of garlic from the mouth. In this case, you need to improve blood clotting: a vitamin K injection will help.

Do not forget that only a veterinarian can prescribe treatment for a dog in case of poisoning, so at the first sign you need to immediately call him or call an emergency veterinarian. All of the above tips are first aid that the owner can provide to the dog before meeting with a veterinary specialist.

After providing first aid, take the animal to the clinic as soon as possible. Do not treat at home under any circumstances.

For most poisonings, you will need qualified help: for example, in case of poisoning with acids and alkalis, you will need to lavage the stomach with a tube. After rat poison, the dog will be prescribed a complex of medications. Also, after any poisoning, the animal will need rest and a restorative diet for some time, which will be prescribed by a veterinarian.

If your dog is poisoned by something at home, after a visit to the veterinarian, carry out a thorough inspection: remove all the most dangerous substances, cleaning products, medications and other chemicals from the animal’s access area.

If your dog is poisoned on the street, subsequently pay more attention to training. Try to wean the animal from picking up something from the ground. Pay close attention to what your dog sniffs at, and do not let the animal off the leash near garbage dumps or in unfamiliar parks.

In our difficult times, when dog hunters (dog hunters) are so common, poisoning in dogs is becoming an important issue, the symptoms of which every owner should know .

Poisoning is understood as an acute or chronic disease that occurs as a result of the ingestion of various toxins or pathogenic agents into the body.

Causes of poisoning

To understand how to avoid intoxication in a pet, you need to understand the main reasons:

• Ill-chosen diet, which contains a large amount of meat and offal, such an imbalance provokes protein poisoning;
• Inappropriate table feeding. This includes poisoning from chocolate, alcohol, etc.
• Failure to comply with food storage rules (airing, mold and other impurities).
• Violation of the rules of packaging of medicinal substances, finding them in easily accessible places. The drugs in the medicine cabinet are dangerous: cardiac glycosides, iodine, hypotonic drugs, sleeping pills, atropine and others can be fatal.
• Presence of open detergents and other household products at home (for example, poisoning with chlorine-containing products);
• Poisonous plants. Few owners realize that their favorite flowers are dangerous for their four-legged friends (azaleas, daffodils, tulips, etc. are toxic to dogs).
• Receipt of toxins by a dog from the ground, due to vitamin deficiencies and lack of mineral supplements, or due to incorrect behavior of the animal on the street ( baits with isoniazid, rat poison and other toxins).

Above we looked at the causes of nutritional or food poisoning. In non-food poisoning, toxins enter the body through the respiratory system, through the skin and mucous membrane of the eyes, and through insect and snake bites.

Signs and symptoms of poisoning

Depending on the toxin, signs of poisoning may appear in the first hours; in other cases, symptoms of damage appear after several weeks or even months. Let's look at the first signs that appear if a dog is poisoned:

• Damage to the gastrointestinal tract. It manifests itself as hypersalivation, or profuse salivation, the animal licks its lips, and develops vomiting and diarrhea. Vomit and feces may contain mucus and blood;
• From the respiratory system the disease is manifested by rapid breathing, coughing, wheezing, foam from the nasal passages, at the last stage pulmonary edema may develop;
• The cardiovascular system responds to toxins by increasing heart rate. Tachycardia, hypertension, and extremely rarely bradycardia develop (in case of poisoning with sedatives and narcotic drugs). Death can occur from cardiac arrest in shock.
• When the nervous system is damaged, the following symptoms occur: Coordination is impaired, gait becomes unsteady, the animal throws back its head, convulsions, trembling and tremor occur, the dog may be unconscious, in a stupor. Sometimes damage to the central nervous system is manifested by overexcitation, unjustified aggression, and groans.
• From the urinary system, anuria (lack of urination due to acute renal failure) or involuntary urination can be observed.

The general condition is assessed as serious. A dog may develop hypothermia due to a general metabolic disorder.

Some poisons cause the development of specific symptoms , So Isoniazid is characterized by confusion, convulsions, foamy discharge from the mouth, the distinctive feature of rat poison is the formation of a large number of hemorrhages, or hemorrhages.

In case of chronic poisoning, general symptoms may occur : Itching, baldness may appear, the coat becomes dull, peeling appears on the skin, you may notice a change in the color of the skin and mucous membranes (for example, jaundice). With these manifestations, you need to get tested to decide on treatment.

First aid or how to help your pet?

In emergency situations, owners ask what to do if a dog is poisoned, where to start?

After insect or snake bite, apply a cold compress or ice. To reduce the spread of poison through the bloodstream. If the source of intoxication is gases and vapors, you should immediately take the dog out into fresh air. Toxins on the skin and mucous membranes are washed away with plenty of water.

In case of food poisoning, first of all, you need to induce vomiting. The animal is given irritating liquids (salt, hydrogen peroxide diluted 1:1 with water, a weak solution of potassium permanganate and others) in large quantities at home.

The second correct action is to introduce adsorbents into the stomach: this can be activated carbon at the rate of 1 tablet per 10 kg, Enterosgel 5-10 ml per 10 kg of weight, a bag of smecta and analogues.

If there is intense loss of fluid with vomiting and diarrhea, you need to help your pet avoid dehydration; for this you need to give the dog a little water, but often.

If there is an antidote to the poison, it must be administered immediately. In any case, in case of poisoning, you should immediately contact a veterinary clinic.

Treatment of poisoning

The dog's owner can help the doctor if he tells in detail what the dog could have been poisoned with. The basis of the treatment of any poisoning is the introduction of an antidote and a decrease in the concentration of the toxin in the general bloodstream.

If an antidote is available, it is administered first. In certain areas inhabited by dangerous snakes, antivenom serums are available at veterinary stations. For rat poison, this miracle drug is vikasol, or vitamin K, for isoniazid, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), it is administered in a dosage of 50 mg per 1 kg of animal weight.

In case of any poisoning, the doctor tries to help and rinses the stomach and introduces liquid through the esophageal tube. The animal is given a drip infusion with a 0.9% sodium chloride solution, dextrose (5% glucose). This assistance is aimed at maintaining electrolyte balance.

Veterinary specialists carry out complex therapy aimed at maintaining all body systems: hepatoprotectors, heart medications are administered, diuretics are administered to improve the removal of toxins. When an intravenous port is placed, blood is immediately taken for analysis to identify the toxin and determine biochemical parameters and assess the general condition of the blood.

Therapy is adjusted based on test results and the patient’s general condition; the duration of the course of infusions depends on the speed of recovery. Only in a clinical setting will assistance be complete and comprehensive.

Rehabilitation period

After an illness, the animal is very weak and a serious question arises: “What to feed the dog after poisoning?” During the recovery period, you need to choose a diet, in the line of medicinal feeds there are foods for gastrointestinal pathologies. These types of feed are easily digestible, help the pancreas function and have a beneficial effect on the digestive tract. It is better to follow this diet for at least a month. An example of such foods is Hills I\D, Eukanuba Intestinal, Pro Plan E\N, Royal Canin Gastrointestinal and analogues.

If you feed your dog natural food, you need to focus on dietary lean meat (turkey, rabbit, chicken breast) and cereals such as rolled oats and rice.

Prevention

Preventive measures should include:

• Training your dog not to pick up anything on the street, otherwise you need to walk with a muzzle;
• If you purchase food in reserve, follow the rules for storing food at home;
• Remove all medications and chemical agents from the animal’s access;
• During repair work, it is better to temporarily relocate the pet to another house;
• Balance your diet with all the necessary elements, it is advisable to consult a competent specialist;
• Put your favorite indoor flowers upstairs, which a dog wouldn’t mind eating;
• When held in the house deratization and disinfestation, you need to take your pet away for a while;
• To prevent protein poisoning, enrich your dog’s diet with cereals and vegetables.

Preventive measures, in general, boil down to preventing the dog from coming into contact with poison, as well as preventing animals from eating poisoned food or bait.

If your dog is poisoned, immediately contact a veterinarian without wasting any time., where she will receive first aid, because in many cases minutes count! Be attentive and pay attention to the well-being of your pet, especially after a walk.